Sermon: "People Over Principles", John 4:46-54 (February 8, 2026)

Today’s passage isn’t one that we encounter very often in the context of worship. It’s not in the Revised Common Lectionary at all, and even here in the Narrative Lectionary, it’s usually lumped together with the healing of a different, paralyzed man - a much better-known miracle that IS in the Revised Common Lectionary and usually gets all the attention. In fact, I had a lot of trouble finding ANY sources or commentaries that could provide insight into this story from the end of John 4. Which I think is unfair: why should this man and his son be neglected and forgotten? Sure, as a royal official, he was a Gentile at best and an instrument of Roman oppression at worst - either way, certainly not a member of Jesus’ community - but he was facing one of the most universal, human experiences there is: fear for the life of a loved one.

Sermon: "Eyes on the Prize", Acts 6:8-7:2a; 7:44-60 (May 4, 2025)

Let’s be honest – this is a pretty disturbing story. Up until this point, Acts has largely been a celebration of the Holy Spirit’s movement among the people, giving us joyful tales of miraculous healings, communal living, and exponential growth. Sure, the disciples were harassed here and there, but they always seemed to come out okay in the end. This, though – this is dark. There’s no “happy ending” for Stephen, even though he’s consistently described as righteous. Amid all the recorded successes of the early Christian movement, this story is a bleak reminder of the sinful reality of the human condition.

Liturgy: Hope of Resurrection - Romans 6:1-14 (May 21, 2023)

*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

*Call to Worship (based on Romans 6:3-4)

Leader: Christ did not die to quell the wrath of a vengeful God.
People: Christ died to reconcile humanity with a God of abundant love.

Sermon: “Sensing the Sacred: What’s That Smell?”, John 11:1-45 (March 29, 2020)

(This is the sixth sermon in our Lenten series, "Sensing the Sacred". 

The others can be found here, here, here, here, and here.)

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In my Junior year of college, I took a course called “Art and the Bible”. I remember sitting in a large auditorium with images of classical art depicting scriptural stories projected in front of us. Most of the class time was spent with the professor explaining what we were seeing in detail. We’d have the scripture in front of us as we listened to him so that we could figure out for ourselves what aspects of the art were true to the text and which were “creative license”. It was a fascinating class (to me, anyway).

Sermon: “Who Are You?”, Deuteronomy 30:15-20/1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (February 16, 2020)

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“Who am I?” That’s the question at the root of both of our scripture readings today. This may surprise you; after all, the words of the Deuteronomy passage have a loaded and complex history that has very little to do with identity. The phrase “Choose life” has been co-opted by Hollywood for the 1996 film “Trainspotting” (a movie about drug use); it’s been used to adorn t-shirts in the ‘80s in a suicide prevention campaign; it’s been embraced by the “pro-life” movement to bolster their position.[1] But we can assume with a fair amount of certainty that Moses didn’t have issues like drugs, suicide, or abortion on his mind when he originally made this speech.

Sermon: "The New Butterfly Effect", Acts 9:36-42/Revelation 7:9-17 (May 12, 2019)

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Have you ever heard of “The Butterfly Effect”? First identified by meteorologist Edward Lorenz, “The Butterfly Effect” is the idea that if one tiny modification is made in the initial conditions of a system, that change can dramatically alter the result. For example, the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can create miniscule changes in the atmosphere, the effects of which can eventually compound to actually change the trajectory of a massive typhoon. In other words, “The Butterfly Effect” tells us that it’s virtually impossible to predict any result with 100% accuracy, because even the smallest unexpected variation in conditions can have dramatic implications for the outcome. This is why in the 21st century, with all of our technological advances and scientific knowledge, we still aren’t able to predict whether or not it’s going to rain on any given day with any amount of certainty—you never can tell when a mischievous butterfly’s been messing around with the atmosphere. 

Sermon: “An Apocalypse of the Non-Zombie Variety”, Luke 6:27-38/1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50 (February 24, 2019)

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Although most, if not all, of us are familiar with the term “apocalypse”, I would venture to guess that fewer of us actually know what it means. Many people assume that “apocalypse” means “end of the world”, and it usually has a pretty violent, catastrophic connotation. While a part of this understanding comes from the apocalyptic literature in our own tradition (like the books of Revelation and Daniel, for example), I’d argue that we have Hollywood to thank for the vast majority of what we think we know about apocalypses. We’ve been particularly informed by the “Zombie Apocalypse” genre of film and television.